1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to human/machine interfaces, and more particular to a remote actuation system for reversibly de-manning a human/machine interface and emulating the interface protocol to interact with the interface at a mechanical level.
2. Description of the Related Art
Human/machine interfaces exist to allow manned operation of a machine. A class of human/machine interfaces includes an instrument panel having one or more gauges that display different measured values associated with the operation of the machine and having one or more mechanical switches (e.g. toggle, rocker or push-button) that switch an electrical or mechanical state to control the machine. In many cases, the human operator follows a defined protocol for reading the gauges and actuating the switches. Based on a specific reading or combination of readings, the operator follows the protocol to actuate a switch or combination of switches. The flight manual for operating an airplane is one example. Another is the operating manual for a power plant.
In certain situations it would be desirable to be able to “de-man” the human/machine interface by removing the human operator from the loop or physically moving the operator to a remote location. For example, the ability to de-man an aircraft could be useful for flight testing new aircraft designs before they are safe enough for human pilots and could be useful for creating flying targets for training exercises. De-manning may be useful if there is a contamination problem with a nuclear power plant. In other situations, de-manning may be useful to reduce cost or to take human subjectivity and failings out of the control loop. In some situations, such as de-manning an aircraft for use as a target the de-manning is permanent. In others, such as flight testing an aircraft or temporarily removing the human operator from an unsafe environment it may be desirable to reverse the de-manning process.
The current state-of-the-art for “de-manning” human/machine interfaces entails cutting the cable bundles from the machine to the human/machine interface, physically removing the instrument panel and hardwiring a solid-state interface to the cable bundles. The solid-state interface is typically a “one off” design built specifically for a particular machine. The solid-state interface emulates the defined protocol at an electrical level reading the electrical signals that would have driven the gauges and providing the electrical signals that would have resulted from actuation of the mechanical switches. This approach is expensive and time consuming to design, build and install, changes the interface and the protocol that was implemented by the human operator and is difficult and expensive to reverse.